The End of an Era

Hello Readers (in case there are any of you left),

I am finally writing a 'back in Minneapolis' post, though I've been back for about 3 weeks. It feels like I have been busy, but mostly I've just been trying to re-adjust. One doesn't think that only 2 years away (after having lived in a place for 23 years) would cause such culture shock, but it certainly does. Hot water is SO cool.

My experience traveling back was exciting in that I had to lie and cheat and SCREAM OBSCENITIES on my way through customs and security in the Phoenix airport and was the last person on the plane to Chicago. I made it though and that is all that matters because the following day I got to surprise my Grandpa at his 90th birthday party and that was pretty great. My cousins Kristin and Leonard picked me up at the airport - I was so zoned out that Leonard stood behind me and talked to me for a couple of minutes before I realized that I knew him - and on the way back to their place we stopped at some restaurant where I had some ridiculously delicious peach cobbler that I won't forget anytime soon. I spent 1.5 more days in the Milwaukee area with my Mom's side of the fam (played some pinochle, finally) and then a couple of days in Green Bay with my Dad's side of the family - got to see all of my aunts and uncles and all 2 of my cousins (who are both far too tall for my liking, though I better be careful because Jacquie is going to be stronger than me.. next week) and my Grandma and my dog. It was a great trip, but I was still kinda dazed and totally in awe of the amount of STUFF that is available (even in Green Bay!) everywhere.

Then I made it home to Minneapolis and it was weird to be back in the basement of my parents house, sorting through stuff, unpacking, doing laundry and trying to settle in. I have to pause to rail at my 2-years ago self because what in the H E double hockey sticks was I thinking when I "sorted through and whinnied down" my stuff before I left? It appears to my current self that I threw nothing away and just left it for current self to take care, which current self is regretting right about now and 2-years ago self is giggling about. Dang! I have notebooks and HANDOUTS from middle school. I mean like syllabi (or however you spell the plural of syllabus) from 12 years ago. Maybe I should ask Oprah to find an expert to help with my hoarding before it gets too late!

Anywho, 3 weeks later, I have signed my contract with Minneapolis Public Schools for whom I will be teaching ESL to Anwatin Middle Schoolers full time. Yeah, buddy! I am So pumped! I had a mini-orientation and have another on the 18th of August. Then I'm at my school on the 19th to start setting up my classroom and going to meetings and courses and all of that good stuff. Kids start August 29th (which seems crazy early to me as we ALWAYS started after Labor Day, but which also means that we are done the first week of June, woohoo!)!

Pako and I are in the last phase of our immigration process and just waiting for the US Consulate in Juarez to notify us that we have an appointment window. At that point, we'll book the appointment(s) and flight and hotel reservations. Then we'll be super nervous until Pako goes and comes back from Juarez and they tell him YES! After that, it's a question of how soon can I get him a direct flight from Mexico to Chicago (or Minneapolis, but it will all depend on when because there aren't that many direct flights from Mexico City to Minneapolis yet). We are anxiously awaiting some news and I hope to find out within the next couple of weeks. Keep your apendages crossed for us!

Speaking of my darling husband, he goes to Montessori on Monday for a scheduling meeting as he'll be teaching Phys Ed to the middle school groups! He is really excited to be able to put to use some of that fancy edumacation that he got and fought so long and hard for! It is a great opportunity for him and I am so happy! Things are looking up!

Since I no-longer live in Zihua, this blog is winding down. Never fear, loyal readers (are you out there still?), there is a new blog to which you can dedicate your reading time! It's called The Teacher and The Grouch and my father and I will be sharing the writing duties. I'll let you figure out who is who... and if you can't figure that out... well... dang. So, don't abandon us yet! Click HERE to be taken directly to the new blog, there ought to be an inaugural post on there soon, brought to you by everyone's favorite grouch!

Thanks for reading, friends! It has been a great outlet for me these past two years to have this forum to vent and rant on and it has made me feel a little more connected to my loved ones who were far away. Some of you are still far away, but none less loved! I hope you'll stick with us as someday we might have something important to say!

XOXOXO,
Leyah

Heart Sick

I leave Zihua tomorrow and will probably not live here again for at least 30 years. I am heart sick. I don't want to leave. I know I have complained and whined and nit-picked on this blog, on facebook and over skype, but the truth is, this. is. PARADISE.

I'm a pretty big cry-baby normally, so you can imagine the state I've been in for the last week. Spontaneous crying (which I am albe to hide from everyone except Pako) and boughts of meloncholy and depression. Ho hum.

There are reasons that I'm leaving: two valid teaching licenses in Minnesota that need to be worked in order to be renewed, a pretty sweet job offer for me, more job offers and advancement opportunities for Pako, the chance to make enough money to travel between the two countries, student loans that INSIST on being paid (ugh), etc. Yes, there are reasons. Logically, Pako and I know that this is the best course for us and we've set it in motion, but dang! It hurts!

Things I will miss about Zihua:

1. MY HUSBAND (for at least the next couple of months)

2. My family here in Zihua (Jim, this means you, too)

3. Tekila (even though he is bat-shit insane and growls at me more often than not)

4. My students (they made every day at Montessori fun and interesting and I love them all)

5. The weather!!! I'm still here and I already miss the weather! Especially November - February weather. Uff.

6. The food. Coconut shrimp... oh. my. god.

The worst part about it is that it seems I'm destined to leave a huge chunk of my heart behind, no matter where I go. If I'm here, the list of things I miss goes on and on and once I'm in Minneapolis, I know the same will be true of Zihua. How is that fair?

Since today is the release of the last Harry Potter movie (SO excited about that), I will run with it and say that if I were a witch, my most treasured power would be that of apparition because it would mean that I could be at the birth of my new niece or nephew in Zihua one afternoon and back teaching school in Minneapolis the next day. Ahh, if only. I love Harry Potter, don't you?

The last few weeks of my life have FLOWN by and I have no idea where the time has gone! Seriously, how can I be leaving tomorrow, already?!? On Saturday, July 2nd, my seniors graduated from high school and officially entered the next phase of their lives. Good googly moogly, I am so proud of them! They are ALL off to college in different parts of Mexico including Colima, Toluca, Mexico City (at UNAM, no less!!), Cuernavaca, Morelia and Guadalajara. (Those places are in no special geographical order, that's just how they came into my brain). I'm at Lorena's house writing this while she and Pako and Teki are all still asleep, so I'll have to upload those pictures later. I am so excited to see where their journies take them (so cheesy, I know, but all of a sudden I'm a huge cheeseball)!

The rest of the time was spent planning Lorena's baby shower, gathering papers for Pako's consular interview (FINGERS CROSSED EVERYONE!) and mentally packing up my apartment. Also, Pako and I went to the beach a lot and ate at all of our favorite restaurants, one last time. Whirlwind. Busy, but enjoyable. Except for the crying parts, those aren't that great.

Here are some photos (carefully edited in order to NOT show any hint of the baby's sex - still, view at YOUR OWN RISK) of the baby shower. Including Lorena, Petra, Eliseo, Pako and Tio Amado, we were about 25 people. We played lots of mildly ridiculous games and the other mom's gave Lorena advice and then we ate barbecued chicken a la Eliseo and cake! It was an all around good time and Lorena lots of good stuff! Success!

Contest to see who could tape a bow highest on their back... It's harder than you think!

Feed the baby! Nobody objected to eating baby food... weird!

What exactly is in that dirty diaper? (Prune baby food, peanut butter, dijon mustard, Worchestershire sauce, snickers and chocolate pudding)

Eyeball the belly and then check your measurements! I might add that I got it EXACTLY right and I did NOT check before!

Showing Lorena exactly how to love her baby



If you crossed your legs, you lost your party favor and had to beg for it back by acting like a baby. Oyuki drew 'tantrum' and eventually won her necklace back.

For the last game, Lorena had to remember who gave her what present (it's not the custom to give cards or write your name on presents in Mexico) and if she forgot, she got lipsticked! This was the some total of her mistakes, so she did pretty well!

Cutting the cake: the last bit of baby shower for the evening. Phew!

You might as well settle in... this is going to be a long one!

Even I'm intimidated by this post. Pako and I took some 415 photos on our 10 day trip to Chiapas and after sifting and sorting and deleting, I'm still left with a good 370. What happened is that Chiapas turned out to be a pretty cool place to visit. Very interesting and extremely beautiful. Ok, that's great except I'm trying to avoid becoming that person who, at a party, makes everyone sit on the couch and look at their 7 boxes of vacation slides. It's actually kind of terrifying. I can see it, hovering in my future...

Anywho, after much thought and deliberation, I've narrowed it down to 30 photos that I'll show in this blog (if they ever decide to upload themselves... it is taking a rather long time). I'm going to go in chronological order because any other order would just be confusing and not very practical, now would it?

We left Zihua at 3pm on June 17th. Lore and Tito took us to the airport and hung out with us until it was time to go through security. That turned out to be really nice because once we got to Mexico City we had a 4 hour layover in the National terminal which seemed to go on forever! I should note that the international terminal in MC is pretty awesome and includes, among other stores, Victoria's Secret and Puma. I could have spent a good 2 hours just in those two store alone, but alas, we weren't allowed in that terminal. Our terminal included some book stores and a string of fast food restaurants. FINALLY, our flight to Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of Chiapas, took off at 8:30 and we landed just before 10. We got to our hotel at 11ish and turned on the air conditioning and went to sleep.

The next day we spent the morning walking around the downtown area, observing and trying to feel out what was different in Tuxtla. There are 4.5 million people in Tuxtla so it's just a smidge bigger than our 100,000 in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, so the obvious differences were all there: more traffic, more people, more stores, more physical area. We also noticed a LOT of graffiti on the walls, some fancy, some not even a little bit. Also, the people are shorter. A lot shorter. I went from feeling like a tall, semi-tourist, to an ENORMOUS, total-tourist. That's the other thing, there aren't that many tourists in Tuxtla because there really isn't that much to do or see in the city itself so I stuck out. And people made no bones about staring me down. It amused Pako to no end when all manner of man, woman and child just totally grilled me, but after awhile I felt it got rather old.

This is a graffiti mural done on the side of a bank, on the main Avenue that runs through downtown Tuxtla.

We also noticed a lot of indigenous women, in full traditional garb, walking around selling everything from shawls to necklaces to pens with clay figures of the Zapatistas glued to them. Their outfits were pretty interesting, but they were a persistent group and one had to start shaking one's head at them from a distance of 5 meters in order to get them to leave you alone within a time frame of 5 minutes, but one doesn't begrudge them this as one realizes that everyone has to make a living somehow. Ok, one has pissed herself off with this 'one' business. Sorry.

Here are some lovely vendors, taking a break from literally hanging off my arm in front of the Cathedral in downtown Tuxtla.

We spent the afternoon at ZOOMAT which is a pretty awesome zoo on the outskirts of the city, nestled right into the rain forest that still tries to reclaim it's lost territory. It's big and sort of confusing, but also really awesome because it only houses local animals that are present in Chiapas (which are quite a lot of interesting animals including big cats and many a bird). One guy set it up and did a lot of the fund raising and bureaucratic work necessary for it to open, Miguel Angel del Toro (hence the M.A.T. part of ZOOMAT). The same guy did a lot of research and preservation at Cañon del Sumidero, which we might get to in a few chapters, if we're lucky. Anyhow, at this zoo, Pako saw a Quetzal and I saw some Spider Monkeys playing in a tree, so we were happy, right from the get-go. Also, it rained, pretty heavily, 3 or 4 times while we were there, but nary a drop did we feel because of the canopy of the trees. Pretty awesome.

SPIDER MONKEY!!!

After a combi ride in which I, unfortunately, was reminded of Acapulco drivers and a hike during which I have NO idea how Pako oriented himself and got us back to our hotel, we ventured out for dinner and stumbled upon Jardin de la Marimba, which is a charming little plaza with a central gazebo from which there are free, live Marimba concerts every night of the week. Charming! So we sat and listened to Marimba and people watched and enjoyed some delicious crepes, straight from Paris, according to the vendor. This plaza was definitely my favorite part of Tuxtla.

Jardin de la Marimba, in action.

These guys could dance better on stilts than I can on my own two legs, after two weeks of intensive dance lessons. Sheesh.

The next day we took another hike to find yet another terrifying combi to take us to Chiapa de Corzo (somewhat confusing when the city is referred to as Chiapa and the state as Chiapas...) which is 10 km away from Tuxtla and is the launching place for boat tours on the River Grijalva through the Cañon del Sumidero, which is a canyon, if you hadn't gotten that far yet. We had breakfast, checked out the Mujedar-style architecture of the gazebo in the central plaza and headed down to the river. I thought maybe the boats were going to be a little fancier than they were, but clearly I was wrong. They were large-ish, flat speed boats with seats for 24 people and a captain. Also, the front end lifted quite alarmingly when we were going full throttle, but I guess that's what the life jackets were for. The trip lasted about 2 hours and in total we traveled 84 km round trip. We buzzed from Chiapa de Corzo all the way to a hydroelectric dam, created by some guys at some point in time. Along the way we saw about a thousand herons, cranes, and other crane-looking birds, pelicans, vultures (ew), etc. We also saw some SPIDER MONKEYS and a crocodile, who was in the grisly process of eating... something. The canyon walls were between 300 meters and 1 km high and stunning. They were alternately stripped rocks and lush green vegetation covered plains. The guide stopped to explain various parts of the canyon or interesting rock formations. There's a stalactite that looks like a seahorse, a waterfall that is shaped like a Christmas tree and, not surprisingly, the body of Jesus nestled in the rocks in a cave, surrounded by pink and purple striped rock, caused by different minerals, or some other such scientificky reason. Before leaving Chiapa, we headed to the church and up the bell tower to take in the view. The most significant part of this adventure was the extremely narrow, windy staircase that seemed to go on forever.

The totally Spanish/Moorish looking gazebo in the zocalo of Chiapa de Corzo.

It was still early enough in the day (10am-ish) that the fog hadn't totally lifted. This particular shot is depicted on the official state seal of Chiapas. It sort of forms a V, but I'm not sure why that was significant.

Here's the Christmas tree waterfall, except it's without water due to it not fully being the rainy season yet.

WILD SPIDER MONKEY!!!

Pako stuck in the never-ending windy staircase of the bell tower of the church that boasted (untruthfully) panoramic views of the Canyon and Chiapa de Corzo.

The next day we took a 6 hour bus ride that, surprisingly, did not feel like it lasted 6 hours, to Palenque, the not-so-notable town just minutes away from the extremely notable archeological zone of Palenque. It was HOT in Palenque! Pako thinks it was hotter in Tuxtla, but he's wrong. As we were looking for a taxi at the bus station, a nice man approached us and told us that he had a cheap hotel available if we didn't have lodging lined up. Straight out of a horror movie. And like excellent horror movie victims, we agreed to take a look. Turned out to be legitimate and we're still here today to talk about the experience. We also booked a tour for the following day of Palenque and then two waterfalls: Misol Ha and Agua Azul, with the same nice man. The ruins were amazing and the site is so large, it's crazy! We got there early enough that it wasn't too hot (thank goodness) and there was still some mist hanging around so we didn't overheat/burn (in my case) at all. We spent about 3.5 hours exploring the ruins and the museum at the site. Palenque (which is not what the Maya called it, but the name given to the site by Spaniards) is a whole village, complete with palaces, temples, ball court and regular dwellings for the non-nobles. The museum had a lot of recovered artifacts from daily life including jewelery, masks, pottery, and ceremonial objects.

Proof that we were there!

Pako, taking a rest.
The quick cat nap worked.

This charming fellow was used in ceremonies. Blood and incense were mixed and then burned in a clay receptacle that sat at the top of the totem.

Around noon we took a 30 minute bus ride (with our tour) to Misol Ha, which is a gorgeous, tall waterfall. You can walk up behind the falls and see it from all angles and there is a swimming area cordoned off. We only had 30 minutes at this spot so we didn't do either, but rather bought a yummy mango and sat in the shade in front of the falls and ate. Then it was a seriously twisty and turny hour-long ride to Cascadas Agua Azul.

Pako likes to prove that he went places.

Now you know we were both there.

Ahem, that should say Cascadas Agua Cafe. Supposedly, during the dry season, these falls are famous because a special combination of minerals in the water (more science, yuck) makes the water a brilliant blue. Turns out, we got there at the beginning of rainy season and the water was... brown. I mean the falls are beautiful and massive. You start at the bottom and walk up and stop for a scenic view, then you walk up some more, more scenic views, then up some more, and so on in that fashion for about 4 more commas. Also, you can get in this river too, which is pretty cool as it was at least 4pm and HOT at this point. So we did walk up, up and up and got in the river!

The not-so-azul waters of Agua Azul
We were hot, but the water was quite shockingly cold!

San Cristobal de las Casas is a not-as-quick-as-the-first-trip 5 hours from Palenque. Luckily the busses were new and direct, so we had working bathrooms and only made one bathroom/stretch/quick buy some dramamine because these mountain roads are WINDY! stop. It was 6ish when we pulled into San Cristobal and had just finished raining. It was COLD. I have never seen Pako so cold. Ok, all you Minnesota and Wisconsin folks are thinking 'it couldn't have been that cold' and you're right. It was probably upper 50s, low 60s, but still, when you've had a month or more of 100+ with 90% humidity, dropping below 80 degrees feels colder than witch's you know what! Anyway, Pako stopped for one photo opportunity before running like a greased pig into the hotel and under the covers.

Pako, directly before diving under 2 blankets

San Cristobal is a beautiful colonial city of 250,000, but it feels like a small town. You can walk to almost ALL of the touristy things and you can catch a local, less-scary-because-it's-a-smaller-town combi if it's too far to walk. We walked EVERYWHERE. The first night, we were so cold we went to the Italian restaurant that was connected to our restaurant and then walked around a bit on Real de Guadalupe, which is a pedestrian street runs right off the main square where City Hall and the Cathedral are located. Then we went back to our hotel room and burrowed under the covers to watch the Mexico-Honduras finals match of the Copa de Oro (Gold Cup). Mexico won and it was a good night.

This hill was serious.

I think this is my new fave pic of Pako. So handsome!

The next day we walked all around. We ate a delicious breakfast at an outdoor cafe and because it was Thursday, there was a procession with the Chorpus Christi from the Cathedral to... I'm not sure where. But the thing is, it went right past our cafe and we felt mildly weird sitting and sipping our cappuccinos while a bunch of people walked by singing hymns. Anyway, then we walked to an arch that dates back to the 1500s and then we climbed a super hill to a tiny church that had great views of the city. Also, there was an interesting little work out area with exercise equipment that we took advantage of because walking up the hugemungous hill wasn't enough for us being the exercise buffs that we are... Then on the way down we found a SUPER awesome shop where we bought 3 dresses, 2 hats and a scarf. Back to the hotel for the afternoon rain and a nap and then out to dinner.

The Cathedral in San Cristobal
What did I say about the people watching? Wait, have I said that part yet? Anyway...

The next day walked to another church and market and then took a combi to San Juan Chamula, which is an indigenous village 10km away from San Cristobal. It was kind of nuts that day because it was the festival day of it's patron saint, surprisingly named San Juan. We didn't say long because it was a nuthouse, but we did see lots of interesting indigenous costumes (outfits? what's the PC way to say that?) and some super interesting fruits called Rambutans.

This is the other side of the city, another excellent hill. I like the pic because it shows how the clouds rolled in around 4pm and covered the town for a couple of hours.

Some of the hoards of people in the zocalo of San Juan Chamula.
Some styling gentlemen in San Juan Chamula
Rambutans! Weird!

Then we caught the combi back to San Cristobal and walked around the market, eying wool sweaters and socks and leather goods and amber and turquoise. We didn't have any fun at all. Then we went to the Na Bolom museum (Jaguar House in modern Maya) which is a museum and research site that was started by two archeologists from Europe who came to Mexico in the early 1940s and studied the Lancandon peoples that lived in the jungles around Palenque. It used to be their house and then gradually morphed into a museum and library. My favorite part were the pictures they took that depicted the daily life of the Lancandon. Then out to dinner at another super yummy Italian restaurant.

Inside of Na Bolom

The next day we spent the morning shopping a LOT and sitting in front of the cathedral, watching the melting pot of people that congregate in San Cristobal. There were people from all over. There were your typical dirty hippies who smelled serious about being hippies, Argentinians, Germans, Spaniards, Frenchies, Belgians, various indigenous groups and of course, two Zihuatanejenses. It was super good people-watching. That's enough of the word 'super' for awhile, ok? Ok.

A stinky hippie with excellent diaper pants.
Cutie Pies

Then we bussed back to Tuxtla and got ready to return to Zihua. We were excited to get back to our own pillows as the pillows in Chiapas appear to be large. We watched Mexico beat the US (woohoo) in the Gold Cup 4 - 2 and it was a good night.

That's it, phew! I won't bore you with anything else. Tomorrow my babies graduate from high school and I'm expecting to cry, so we'll see how that goes. Until next time my faithful readers!

XOXO,
Leah

The Universe is Talking to Me...

The universe is talking to me. It's clear now. And there is no question about what the universe is saying, either. Ok, Universe, I get it! Loud and clear!

Yesterday, I did some laundry. Had I written that same sentence 2 years ago and 2000 miles north of where I am writing it now, the context would be completely different and in that instance, totally not interesting. But, when laundry involves a washing machine the needs to be filled (and drained) manually and constantly monitored so that the inevitable knots of clothing can be loosened and the washing cycle can continue and then serious amounts of hand rinsing and hand-wringing-out of clothes, towels and sheets, a load of laundry becomes a whole new monster. Anyway, I felt all energized and good about knocking that bad-boy off my list, so with gusto I proceeded. It only took me an hour to do a small loud and hang it out and the day was looking up. Pako, Tekila and I went to the beach and played in the sand and sea. Then we stopped at Lorena's house and who should show up, but Lorena (it's mid-week and she wasn't supposed to come home until next Wednesday, which is why that statement is interesting)! Then, rumble rumble rumble THUNDER STORM! My freshly washed and line dried clothes!!!
Crises averted, we got home in time to avoid most of the damage. A quick shot of frebreeze and their smelling like they were freshly washed and line-dried again!

Then, today. I don't know what possessed me (well, actually I do, I have a peer of a dog and he really likes our living room furniture), but I decided to do some MORE laundry. God, what is this housewifery crap that is seeping into my consciousness? Towels, sheets and slip covers, oh my! I dash around the apartment, collecting anything that had dog hair on it and dump everything into the laundry machine, pre-filled by moi last night, toss in a capful of woolite concentrate and ... and ... AND NOTHING! Turning on the washing machine does nothing, no happily churning and knot of clothing inducing waters, no suds, no nothing! OH NO, I thought to myself, this can't be happening! You can't mean that I have to wash 4 large bath towels, 2 sheets, 2 slip covers and a pair of Pako's shorts by hand, can you? NOOOOO! I have this friend, we'll call her Gina Fosse, who is enamored by the idea of doing laundry on what she adorably refers to as a turtle shell. What she means, of course, is a cement washing board, fashioned conveniently into my laundry alcove sink. Gina, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, I really am, but using that thing is the PITS. One, it's two short for me, as are most built-in appliances/fixtures. Two, ever heard of bloody knuckles? Well, it's not just a charming play-ground game for young delinquents, it's also the very real consequence of a too-tall person doing copious amounts of scrubbing on a cement serrated sink basin! Anywho, I checked the outlet, the cord, the extension cord and nothing served to conduce power from the wall to my washing machine. Ring, ring. Universe calling, stop doing all of those silly chores! Don't you have a husband to abuse lying around somewhere?

And then. I found $2 pesos in the pocket of Pako's jeans as I was kneading them in knuckle bloodied water on my cement turtle shell. There goes that Universe again with her damn mixed messages. Bitch.

The "washing machine"/clothing-knot-tier and the cement 'turtle shell.'

I think what the Universe was trying to say is that I should stay away from domesticity and get back to writing. In fact, it's not just the universe saying such things, but a number of people. So here I am, writing a blog, after a two month hiatus, during which I was, among other things, battling never ending loads of laundry.

After the wedding, I was exhausted. I do believe I mentioned that fact in my last blog (though it was so long ago, the only way I could be sure would be to re-read what I wrote and I haven't done something silly like that since high school English class), and it continues to be true. What a fabulous whirlwind time it has been since, but it has caused me to fall woefully behind on my blogging duties. If I'm to get anywhere with this post, I best be about it because 2 months worth of funny and interesting crap has happened to me and my Mexican family. I think I'll work backwards and just stop when I forget the rest.

Ok, It appears, I've forgotten it all. See you next week.

Nope, just kidding. Some stuff just came to me. Last Friday (June 3rd) was my last day of classes with my high schoolers. This week I have classes with 6th and 7th grade and we're basically reviewing for their exams. I miss my high schoolers! I had the 11th and 12th graders for two years and I TOTALLY enjoyed my time in class with them. Lesson planning and grading was nothing special, but the conversations that came out of those groups were hilarious. Anyway, I almost cried when I had to say goodbye to them and this week I'm feeling their absence quite acutely. One student wrote me a letter and called me his 'school mama' and that is exactly how I feel. I am sad to see them go, but so proud of them and so excited for their future.

My feelings about my high schoolers basically sum up my feelings about leaving Montessori. I'll be sad to leave (most) of the people at the school, especially all of my students, but it's time for me to move on. I won't miss the administrative slip-ups or the late/incomplete pay checks, but I'll definitely miss the kids. Overall, my years here have been enjoyable and I have absolutely learned a lot about being in a classroom and walking the line between teachers and administration. I'm leaving excited for what comes next, so there's got to be something positive in that.

Lorena is good and pregnant! She's into her 6th month and baby is doing well. Out of respect for some old fart in Canada, no details about the baby's sex or name will be posted, but the little bugger did reveal itself at the last doctor's visit. Baby Dominguez Teresa is doing very well and is right on track developmentally, and obviously, we're all very pleased about that. Lorena was, however, diagnosed with gall stones 2 weeks ago, so she's on a strict low-fat, non-dairy diet in hopes that there won't be a need to operate until the baby is born. So far, so good, but if you have any good low-fat non-dairy recipes, send them my way and I'll forward them along to her.

Belly Contest. Lorena at 5 months and Pako at... 4.5?

My new niece or nephew :)

Next Friday (June 17th) Pako and I are going on our honeymoon for 10 days to Chiapas, Mexico. We had planned to go to Vancouver to visit our old fart friend, but Canada decided not to give us a visa. If we hadn't ran around like chickens with our heads cut off for 2 weeks trying to get all the visa stuff together and turned in, it wouldn't be as disappointing. Oh, that and the $200 US dollars it costs to apply. In all seriousness, we were really bummed. Pako because he loves Vancouver and wanted to show me around and me because I wanted to get to know the city that everyone talks about so much. Plus there's this guy that we kind of like that we wanted to visit. Nothing we could do, though, so we're heading to Chiapas. We're flying in and out of Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital, and from there we'll visit Palenque (known as the 'jewel of the Mayan empire') and San Cristobal de las Cazas (a quaint, colonial town surrounded by small, traditional villages) and anywhere else that tickles our fancy. We're also hoping to visit Las Cascadas de Aguas Azules and El Cañon del Sumidero while were there. We'd appreciate travel tips from anyone who's been there before!

It's officially the rainy season, but it has only rained twice. It's tried to rain two other times, but no dice. It's hotter than it should be, too, which is nice. Ok, that was sarcasm. It's not nice. It's miserable. The other day it was 103 degrees plus 90% humidity. I know it was 103 in Minneapolis the other day, but please, it's been like that for about a month here. AND I'll raise you no air conditioning and sun-baked cement walls! Game, set, match or some other appropriate sports metaphor. I know I'll be complaining about having the opposite problem in a couple of months, but it would seem that I'm a bit of a complainer, so if you don't like it, get off my stoop! (OK, that was a Sex and the City reference, it should really say 'get off my blog,' but that sounded harsher than I wanted it to so I went with the allusion instead). The rainy season has a nickname, too, and it is 'earthquake season.' Yeah, I know, what a lame nickname, it's not even shorter than the real name. We had an earthquake during school (which I didn't feel, but can confirm as I could hear the ceiling fans and lights shaking throughout the school) and my 11th graders were out of the room and following earthquake drill procedures before I even knew what was happening. It was just a little tremble though, thankfully, so no damage and as Pako noted, not even a good rise in the tide.

Speaking of surfing, surf season is back and the waves are steadily growing around here. Pako's happy. I find it a bit hellish to be at the beach in the sun in this heat, so often times he has to go alone. So I don't have any good surfing pics for this blog, but maybe next week. I have to really ratchet up my tan before I leave in a month or people won't believe that I lived in Mexico for almost exactly 2 years and there will be Minnesotans with more color than me! Maybe hiking around in Chiapas will give me a boost in color. Except that a lot of it is rain forest.. hmmm... I hope I see some monkeys!

Ok, I've run out of things to say and I think we can safely say that I ran out of wit a while ago. I probably won't blog on Sunday because, well, I know myself pretty well and unless something supermegaawesome happens (and even if it does), it's unlikely that I'll be back until after Chiapas. So there it is, I'm putting the disclaimer on here right now. No facebook yelling at me. Yes Kristin, I'm talking to you :)

Until next time my good friends! I hope you're all well!

XOXO,
Leyah

PS. If you want to send me recipes for Lorena or tips about Chiapas, my email is: leahlaurent@gmail.com (clever, I know). Adios!

PPS. I forgot to mention that our immigration lawyer filed our I-13o a couple of weeks ago, so step one of the process is done! Woohoo! It's a long process, but you can't finish if you don't start (or so I keep telling myself, anyway)!!!

This guys was tied at the side of my apartment building. How often is that going to happen in the states?

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaaaack

**** I wrote the following blog a week ago, but didn't have time to put any pictures with it, so I never put it up... until now. Not much has changed, though one more week of school did fly by. Also, we've started the Visa process and it promises to be somewhat not fun in the least little bit. We're working on it, though, and also working on getting a tourist Visa to Canada so we can pop up to Vancouver in June :)

That's all for this week (it wasn't terribly eventful, as you can see) and I'll write again soon. Next week is the beginning of 2 weeks of AWESOME vacation aka get-the-visa-stuff-together-apply-for-MN-jobs-and-figure-out-that-Canada-trip time. I'm looking forward to it!

Take care! XOXO

Hola Blog-Readers,

That's right, I'm back! This is really me, here for your reading pleasure! It has been a long, tiring, exciting, emotional ride, but it appears that Pako and I have come through it unscathed and with some new jewelery (though at the moment, Pako's ring is on his right hand due to surfing accident that resulted in a swollen knuckle). I don't have the remotest clue as to where I left off, so I guess I'll start with a brief (VERY brief) recap of the wedding and since from my point of view.

I started to feel really excited and more relaxed (the latter emotion lasted for a unfortunately brief period) on the Friday before the wedding. Everyone made it on time, no lost luggage and I didn't have to go to the airport again for the foreseeable future (or so I thought).

The rehearsal dinner went smoothly, though I have a feeling that Pako's side of the wedding was mildly confused by the whole thing. It's not all that common to have a rehearsal, but I sure am glad that we did. Then a yummy dinner at La Perla. Then for the youngsters it was off to Señor Frog's for some mingling. The not-so-youngsters got together somewhere on La Ropa and presumably had a good time. Frog's, as it turns out, is rather lame before 11pm (and for the entire evening, sometimes), so getting there at 9 was interesting. It did afford time for my different groups of friends to mingle and let loose. My two bridesmaids, Pako and I left at 10:30pm (Frog's was still lame at that point) as we were exhausted and had mildly important things to do the next day.

The day of the wedding, bridesmaids and I breakfasted at Hotel Irma, which was yummy, and then headed up to the Condo that Pako and I had rented for our mini-moon.

Breakfast at Hotel Irma

We spent the day there getting ready with my mama, Lorena and the photog. I felt ok, not really relaxed (despite the amazing massage I got on the balcony), but slightly as if I were a bridesmaid at someone else's wedding! It didn't hit me until I had the dress on and then... GAAAAH!

The ceremony passed in rapid-fire fashion and I remember it, but not with great detail. Thank Gosh for Ms. Christy Tyler because I'll be able to jog my memory by looking at her photos! I remember almost crying as I walked down the aisle and my mom squeezing my hand and my dad making a joke. Then I remember this piece of hair that the wind insisted on blowing in my face. Then I remember reading the vows and signing and finger-printing a lot of pieces of paper (that originally had my mother labeled as Pat Laurent) and then smiling a lot for photos. I remember being really, really happy and in love and emotional and also really, really happy that it was over and time to party :)

The party consisted of me eating only white foods (in case I were to spill, not an uncommon occurrence) and then dancing A LOT! First I danced with Pako, then my dad, then with everyone, then I stood on a chair for what were to be the most terrifying moments of the whole day, then with some Old Fart and then with everyone and then with Pako.

Dancing with my Mama :)

Then the music turned off, most people left and I stretched out on a table to wait for Pako's last groups of friends to finish their tequila and head out. Pako and I got to our condo around 3:45 and we were T-I-R-E-D!!! I should mention that while I spent the day getting primped and hanging with my girls, Pako took care of ALL the last minute stuff, like making sure everything was delivered on time and setting up the hall, etc. Hugemongous KUDOS to him!

Our Torna Boda, or continuance of the wedding party from the night before, consisted of a party at Lorena and Tito's house. There was BBQed goat and chicken, tiritas, and rice.. oh and 11 cases of left over beer. Again, I had a great time, but the details are a little blurry. I remember introducing everyone to Tekila and him giving a summarily typical performance and trying to bite me multiple times. Crazy, but I still love him.

The next week consisted in lots of lunches/dinners with a lot of people I love.

Some examples of people I love: Me, Abbye, Mama, Dad, Kathy, Tia Maria, Gary

More People I love: Gretchen, Mama, Pako, Me, Lily, Sherry, Dad, Bertie

It did not consist of the following things, however:
1. Sleep
2. Rest
3. Preparing for the inevitable return to school and the real world
4. Spending anytime alone with my new husband.

The Sunday before I went back to work, March 6th, was the first day that Pako and I spent all day together. I'm not the most informed person when it comes to wedding traditions, but I don't think that's exactly how it's supposed to go. Nonetheless, I had an amazing time with the family and friends that made it to the wedding and I am SO glad that they were able to share in Pako's and my day!

Going back to work was, in a word, ROUGH! I had missed the kids, but not enough to want to be there on that Monday morning rather than in my bed! Luckily, Jeanne had planned for this and had stuff for the kids to do that day, so I just got to answer questions about the wedding and get my bearings back.

I also started giving Technical English classes at a hotel in Ixtapa to two different groups of workers. It was interesting, but as I entered in the middle of the semester, somewhat discombobulated. Luckily, the students were all very welcoming and we picked things right up. An extra 4 hours a week doesn't sound like much, but it sure did knock me off the feet I had just gotten back under me! The hotel has recently announced that new investors are coming into the picture and for the moment, classes are canceled. I can't say I'm that broken up about it.

Mom's birthday dinner at Casa Vieja :)

Also, Pako got a job working for Gas de Guerrero. It's only been a week, but so far he likes it. I like that he works from 9 - 6 M - F and 9 - 4 on Saturdays. Once his uniforms are ready, I'll post a picture! He gets to drive around in his car, listen to the radio and talk to different clients. Eventually it'll get boring, I imagine, but for the moment, he's pretty happy that he's out and about and talking to different people and not standing around a hotel, securing the non-existent guests.

The month after the wedding went QUICK. My parents left yesterday and it feels like they had just gotten here. Their last week, Pako and I spent as much time with them as possible, going to the beach or eating. Their time here was marked by a LOT of eating. I was conveniently "sick" and couldn't go to work on their last day and we had some coffee, walked around a bit, packed up their apartment and went to dinner at Lety's for their famous, ULTRA delicious coconut shrimp.

Today, Pako and I went to The Ranch where he surfed and I sat in the sun and read my kindle (AWESOME!). Then it was home for the inevitable, but still galling lesson-planning. I'll have to do a lot less on Sunday's now that Pako will be working and I won't have anybody to visit. Bittersweet.

On the upside, Semana Santa happens in two short weeks! Awesome! That seems like a manageable time period! I can do it!

Until next time, blog-readers-extraordinaire, take care! (Rhymes are always appreciated, as is alliteration... )

XOXO,
Leyah

Guest Blog #2

Hello Leah's blog readers,

She has asked me, her father, to be her guest blogger one more time. So be patient, she will resume writing the blog soon.

The biggest thing that has happened here in Zihua is, of course, Pako and Leah's wedding. I remember a year ago when we were reserving the hall and the beach site for the wedding. Then before you know it the actual day of the wedding was here. Leah, her mother, her bridesmaids and Lorena (Pako's sister) all spent the day of the wedding together getting massages, their hair done, dressed and the rest of the mysterious stuff women do to get ready.



This left me on my own and I spent the day remembering Leah as a little girl and all of our lives together culminating with her wedding. I was flooded with all sorts of emotions and more than once had to fight down a lump in my throat. American males are not trained to handle these type of emotions and I am no exception. So as soon as I could, without looking like a nut, I got dressed and headed over to the beach and the site of the wedding. Once I got there I thankfully saw three of Leah's friends from grad school and I could talk to them and get my mind back to the present.

It was, as it almost always is this time of year, a beautiful day. The wedding was scheduled to begin at 5:30 and I was there about an hour early. One of my first tasks was to tap into the restaurant's WiFi so Leah's grandmother back in Green Bay would be able to see her in her wedding dress as we prepared to walk down the aisle. After a few missteps we got connected and I logged onto Skype. We had asked our friend Bert to hold the laptop and be our cameraman. When we first thought of Skyping the wedding we weren't sure just how much of the ceremony we would be able to capture. We weren't sure if the WiFi would carry the signal all the way out to the beach where the actual wedding took place or what the glare of the sun would do to the picture quality. Fortunately, the signal carried and Bert did a great job of getting in there with the still photographer and my family back in Wisconsin not only saw the whole wedding but heard the vows Pako and Leah exchanged. If you are going to have a significant event in your family and certain family members are prevented from attending for health or other reasons I highly recommend you consider Skyping the event.

As we came down the aisle the the guests started clapping and the Mexican guests shouted "Bravo". I told Leah that I thought they were yelling for me but I think she disagreed. Being an objective observer, I have to say the bride was beautiful and the groom looked relaxed and muy guapo.

The wedding itself was a simple but beautiful ceremony. Leah and Pako wrote their own vows. The vows were sincere and at times funny but most importantly they were a statement of their love for each other. Two days before the wedding Pako suggested they write their own vows. So there wasn't a lot of time but obviously they knew their subject well because they both expressed their love and devotion convincingly. I had only a few things to do during the ceremony and managed not to screw up any of them.

After the ceremony many pictures were taken on the beach. There was the official pictures being taken by Christy Tyler and more photo's being taken by our Canadian friend, Jim, and then every one else was taking pictures with phones and every other type of camera in existence. We all milled around while the sun set over the beach and we grabbed taxis to the hall where the reception and dance were held.

The food was good, the cake tasty, the tequila smooth, the beer cold and the party was on. In my earlier guest blog I described the process by which we selected the song for the father daughter dance. When the time came we began to dance to Stevie Wonder's Isn't She Lovely. I was dancing up a storm to the song. I like to think of my style as a cross between Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly and Hines, Hines and Dad (anyone under 50 can google Hines, Hines, and Dad). As we got to the last chorus of the song it suddenly cut out and a new song started playing. It turned out to be a song that had circulated in Wisconsin during the recent Super Bowl run with a refrain that went "I love the Green Bay Packers". It was a surprise Leah had planned without letting me know. When it came on the Wisconsin guests let out a roar and the Mexican guests scratched their heads and probably wondered if it was such a good idea to go to a wedding with so many gringo guests. As for the Minnesotans we considered a song about the Vikings but this was a wedding and a dirge would have been inappropriate. Being good Minnesotans they soon forgave us and the party went on.

Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and I was very happy that things had gone off without nary a hitch. Kudos to Don Fransisco, who officiated at the ceremony which was held at his family's restaurant, and the caterer who had closed his restaurant the night of the wedding so he could use his excellent staff to work the wedding. If you are looking to plan a destination wedding let us know because we can make some seriously good recommendations for the location, food, cake, and photographer. Thanks to all of you for helping Leah and Pako celebrate their big day.

The next day, Pako's dad barbecued goats, chicken and fish and the traditional day after party was held at Lorena and Tito house. A big group turned out. Pako's dad was pleased that the gringos tried all the food, including the goat and it was a nice layed back get together. After the party there were still seven cases of beer left. I have been put in charge of disposal and have been doing my best to make sure I complete the job before we head back north.

The week following the wedding was taken up with visiting with our friends and showing them some of the delights of Zihua. It was a lot of fun but I guess I'm not as young as I once was because when the last group yelled at me from the taxi taking them to the airport I was thinking about heading back to our apartment and sleeping for a day or two. Leah, Pat and I want to extend our thanks to all of our friends who came all this way to help Leah and Pako celebrate their wedding. It was so nice to have so many of our good friends there to share our happiness. I think just about everyone had a great time during their visit and I expect I will get fewer questions about what I do down here all the time. Thanks again for being here and being such good friends.

Now to switch gears a little. One of the advantages of hanging out with a local surfer dude is you get to go to places that aren't on any tourist map. Last weekend Pako took us to Loma Bonita, a beach about 60km from Zihua. It was a long, long stretch of beach with zero development cluttering it's natural beauty. We packed a picnic lunch and brought our own shade. In order to get down to the beach you have to climb down a bluff. Fortunately Pako brought a surfer friend along with us and the two of them carried the cooler (which held some of the surplus beer) down the bluff.

The beach itself was teaming with life. Not many humans but scores of birds, crabs, clams, and a couple of friendly dogs that were pretty interested in Leah's dog either as a playmate or a snack. We weren't sure at first but everything turned out fine. On the beach we saw turns, albatross, cormorants, pelicans, and vultures as well as these little birds that all flew together in large numbers. These little birds would all fly together and change direction all together at any given moment. They looked like a school of fish in the air. Then they would land on the beach and would all run together as fast as their little legs could carry them and would all turn at the same time in what appeared to be random movements. The dogs would chase them and they would all fly down the beach and when the dogs caught up they would all fly back. This went on for a while until the dogs gave up.

After Pako and his buddy got done surfing we ate our lunch and layed down to take a little nap. I didn't like the way the vultures were looking at me so I got up and walked the beach waving my arms around to signal I might be bloated but I'm certainly not dead.

A little later we got to watch some whales put on a show. They were breaching and you could see their flippers (an unofficial whale term) as they slapped them on the surface of the water. When they were at a certain angle you could see their flutes (tails, and an official whale term) clearly come out of the water. It was a good show and was the third whale sighting for me since we have been here. I'm starting to get blase about whales but this summer as I am walking around Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis I probably won't get too excited when I spot a school of carp.

Two days from now we will have been in Zihua for eight weeks. It has been a fun and eventful time and of course we will always remember the wedding and everything that went into pulling it off. I'm not sure that Leah will ever relinquish her blog to me again but it has been fun writing to you all. I'm sure the next entry will be Leah's and she can tell you, once again about her "New Sunnier and More Spanishy Life''.

Leah's Dad